


Melody of the Soul

by calore



Series: Rich, Famous, Ardent. [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: BEST DUO IN MYSME NO ONE DOES IT LIKE THEM, Gen, I LOVE THEM THEYRE SO.... GOOD....., Idol/Fan relationship, KPop AU, and Fun Things happen, i did this For Them, in business school so ur getting a lot of That, jaehee is a college student, mutual hyping, no beta we die like men, not the biggest fan of that tbh but ZENHEE., platonic mostly - Freeform, rfa make brief appearances its mostly jaehee and zen, the rfa are a kpop group called mystic messenger in this, this has the same follow ur dreams shit from her route but this time with like. music, this is idol becomes fan of Fan, this is like. backstory for my other fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26788642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calore/pseuds/calore
Summary: Business school might be burning 20-year-old Kang Jaehee out more than is healthy, setting her passions aside for the sake of survival, but at least she has Zen, who was perhaps the greatest artist she'd met. Admiring from afar, she watches as he finds success as a member of the rookie group Mystic Messenger. When Jaehee gets an opportunity to intern at Cheritz, Mystic Messenger's company, part of her hopes to get a step closer to one of her greatest inspirations.She did not expect, though, to meet and befriend the legendary Zen. She did not foresee the impact he would have on her entire life. That summer, she stepped onto his world, not knowing her life would be forever changed thanks to a fateful opportunity.
Relationships: Kang Jaehee & Zen | Ryu Hyun
Series: Rich, Famous, Ardent. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953421
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Melody of the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> fuck mmgs im focusing on this now until i figure out a plot for that one 
> 
> anyways i love zenhee they deserve fucking everything..... would literally d word for them............

KANG JAEHEE WAS PRACTICAL, STRAIGHTFORWARD, and effortlessly diligent. She did not beat around the bush, did not waste a second of her time in frivolous conversation or mindless diversion. The college student of professors’ dreams, one would find her, if not paying stark attention in classes, then in a coffee shop in the late afternoon, typing away on a laptop. Or on any extracurricular activity with a name made to appeal to the University’s wealthiest heirs. She was not a part of this group, not at all, nobody even knew who her parents were and she had no connections whatsoever, but she was certainly one of the most ambitious students, one could see it in the way she worked. Not hesitating to take charge, attending every seminar and certificate program making the most out of her full scholarship, coming out on the top ten percent of every class she took somehow (some people were starting to assume it was more than simple smarts). She charged into the academic world like it was her personal battlefield, fighting to accomplish something grand. What that was, nobody knew. 

Of course, that’s only what everyone saw. The glint in her eyes as she relentlessly pushed, not the hollowness behind them, not the consequences of her toil. Nobody asked why sometimes her legs wouldn’t stop jittering, why she retired to the restroom during classes for longer than she should be allowed. Nobody wondered why she filled her planner with things to do during the day as if she avoided going back home. Very few people even dared to make personal conversation with her, intimidated by her go-getter facade. Some boys though, a few of them rich beyond what one could imagine, approached her intending to court her. She rejected them all. One of these told her once that her polite detachment wouldn’t get her any company. She said she didn’t mind, she wasn’t here to seek company.

She was here, breaking her back for a business degree at one of Korea’s top universities because she wanted one thing: Independence. Self-sufficiency. To exist on her own, not needing anyone because no one would want her in the first place. She wanted to carve a place in the world for herself, to prove she was someone. And she knew this path would get her there. No, she wasn’t going to go straight to directive positions like some of her peers, no matter how much harder than them she worked. With her lack of name she’d likely end up in a starter position, or in a management one if she was lucky. But luck wasn’t a word in Kang Jaehee’s life dictionary, and that was alright. She’d hold on to whatever she could grasp. If she was good at anything, it was finding answers where there weren’t any. 

That’s how Jaehee lived her life; pushing. Pushing until the world relented to her or until she’d dented the world enough that there was a space for her to fit into. It was as exhausting and hollowing as one would imagine. Her life was, above all, about survival.

Was she happy? No, but was anyone happy as a college student? Was the point of all this happiness? It didn’t matter to her, she knew she’d find it eventually, just not here, not when she was still fighting. When she came out of the gutter, perhaps, with everything she’d so yearned for. 

She still coped, though, looking for solace amidst the storm of projects and assignments and weekend jobs. She did her homework in cafés and relished in the ambiance. She took dance classes as a workout and a stress relief, leaving all those unanswered emails and grades on the edge of declining behind as she lost herself to the movement, during those few minutes when all that existed were the music and her body moving with it. She listened to bubblegum pop and dance music as she went about her day for that one kick of serotonin. Moments like those were what kept her going through increasingly hollow days. 

But her biggest lifeline of all was Zen. An actor she’d discovered in her high school days, just two years younger than her but with more talent and passion in his body than Jaehee thought humanly possible. She will never forget the moment she stumbled upon a Metube compilation of his performances. The way his voice wavered, rose and fell not according to technique but to emotion, the way his red, red eyes said more than words ever could. How his immaculately muscular body executed the dances, a ripple of water on a lonely ocean growing into a tide. He was a marble statue of an Olympic god come alive, he was art incarnate, and the passion flowing through his veins sparked something in Jaehee, reminding her of a feeling she’d kept buried for too long.

It didn’t take her long to become a fan of Zen. She spent hours watching every single performance and cover she could find, putting them all on a playlist she went to whenever life was sucking at her a bit too hard. She listened to the soundtracks of every single one of his musicals, all of the stories that made her want to weep and scream and sing in glory. That’s when she fell in love with how many ways there were to tell a story, to evoke emotion with song and dance and good old acting. Of course, she wasn’t as enchanted with any actor as she was with Zen, so it was his songs that made it to her emotional support playlist. There was just something that set Zen apart from every artist she’d met, his art seemed to come from the innermost part of him, raw and painfully alive. Jaehee was enthralled by how someone could lay his very soul out in such a way that it touched another person so deeply. She could never do that, couldn’t fathom how Zen could. She wished she could, though, but had long made peace with the fact that she wasn’t made out of the same stuff artists were. 

Still, she held onto his passion, onto what he put out into the world, because it was the only thing that made her feel something akin to happiness. It was addictive and she wanted more, wanted to experience it beyond her phone screen or headphones. Sadly, due to lack of money and time, she could never attend any of his plays nor fan meetups (she didn’t know what she’d do if she did meet him, probably wax poetic about how good his work was until she bored him). The most she could do was buy professional DVD recordings of his plays, and even then she only managed to only do that once, with money she’d carefully saved for months from her part-time checks. That hadn’t gone too well, either… Once her aunt had found out about the DVD, she had reprimanded Jaehee probably worse than ever, yelling about how irresponsible she was with money, how if she could afford this then she could easily live on her own, how much of a burden she was to have around, how stupid she was. Of course, she didn’t listen when Jaehee tried to defend herself, saying it was much deeper than that. She never would. 

That’s when Jaehee promised herself that, whenever she managed to escape this shithole of a house, when she had her own place and her stable job, she wouldn’t waste a second to indulge, building the DVD collection of her dreams and going to every show she could. 

...Or maybe not the last part, since Zen had recently decided to stop acting in favor of becoming an idol. She couldn’t blame him, that was the more lucrative industry, after all, it was only a matter of time until he switched to making commercial music. Although Jaehee had to admit she was a bit disappointed… it was his acting that had captivated her so deeply after all. Still, she couldn’t wait to see what Zen would do as a singer. He’d look dazzling on those extravagant stage outfits, dancing intricate choreographies while singing with that magical voice of his. A true wizard of performance. Plus, there’d be so much more easily accessible content of him… maybe this was more of a win than anything for Zen fans. 

The only downside was that he wouldn’t be alone but in a group. Mystic Messenger, debuting under Cheritz Entertainment, with five members, four boys and one girl, as was usual. Jaehee knew how Cheritz’s groups worked, they liked to do mixed groups with every member but one being of the same gender. The idea was creative and it set them apart in the industry but was exactly what made them struggle to succeed. Jaehee had followed and quite enjoyed one of their groups in the past, Dandelion, but she hadn’t followed them after disbandment. Part of her wondered what they must be doing now, if they were still under Cheritz or had moved on. And judging by Dandelion's whole group concept… if Mystic Messenger was going to be similar, then Jaehee didn’t know how to feel about it. If it came down to her, she’d prefer to see Zen in a more classic boy group, one like BPB perhaps. But she was sure he’d do well in anything regardless. 

Actually, Jaehee was quite curious as to what Mystic Messenger would be like. So far, their teasers for their late spring debut next month had been almost infuriatingly mysterious, showing only half of the members’ faces against blue light. Zen had looked stunning in his, of course, as if the night sky were tracing the sharpest angles of his face into perfection. It made Jaehee beyond excited as to what he was going to bring in the group, her heart raced at the mere thought of getting new Zen content soon. Meanwhile, she was trying to familiarize herself with the other members: a girl named Rika who was set to be the center and rumored to be the visual (Jaehee did not think that was a wise placement, because while Rika was quite good-looking she was nothing compared to Zen), Yoosung, who was the youngest member and one of the rappers, though he did not look like one in the slightest. Then there was Zen, who was very rightfully taking the positions of lead vocal and main dancer (though Jaehee would’ve made him main vocal too if it were up to her), and a boy with very red hair with the stage name 707, who was a triple threat according to the netizens. Jaehee would like to see how that played out.

The last member would be revealed today, and there was more excitement than ever towards who he could be. Names were being thrown around, which ranged from this guy 707 did a dance cover with last year to the heir of Cheritz Entertainment. Jaehee figured the former was a possibility, though the latter was just ridiculous. An heir had no business in an idol group. 

_Whoever it could be, we’ll find out later_ , she figured with a racing heart, perhaps from the iced coffee she was drinking or from the many discussions on her Tripter homepage. It would be hard to focus on today’s Micro lecture, that much was obvious. But she’d have to put her thoughts on Zen and Mystic Messenger aside for the next hour or so, and get her brain on work mode. 

So, letting a breath out and squaring her shoulders, she made her way to the lecture hall. Time’s out, back to reality. It was time to push forward and forward once again.

TURNS OUT, THE PHENOMENA OF ENTREPRENEURISM was a duller topic than it appeared, and Jaehee found her mind slipping in and out of focus, going to more interesting places than the easily interpretable data on Professor Kim’s PowerPoint. Naturally, that meant thinking about the new group, checking her phone every second whenever the time was nearing 12:00. Writing notes on her laptop occasionally. It didn’t matter much, she knew she’d have to study the whole PowerPoint again to do a case study for her assignment.

Her heart caught in her throat when she saw the Cheritz Ent. notification, and she had to try not to make her reaction too eye-catching, Carefully, she tapped on it, revealing a Trip with the group’s last member. His name was Jumin.

Oh. So, the company heir, after all… now that was unexpected. Really unexpected. She shared her thoughts, which a lot of people seemed to agree with, though many were simply struck by how handsome he was. And Jaehee had to admit, he was quite handsome for a corporate heir, with dark features and a sharp bone structure. In his teaser photo, he was tilting his profiled head forward, thick brows frowning and a hand carefully positioned against his lips. Despite his good looks, his addition to the group didn’t stop being… strange.

Well, this group would surely be something to figure out, none of the members seemed to fit together. But that wasn’t something to dwell on right now, because she had to write down the details for this assignment. It was worth a great part of her final grade, after all, and she was going to be screwed if she didn’t have the list of sources this time. 

The Professor explained everything quickly. Asked if anything needed to be clarified. As usual, Jaehee had understood everything and was ready to get this done (it wouldn’t be hard, it seemed, just tedious), but, as usual, the same three guys asked their rather stupid, “i-clearly-wasn’t-paying-attention” niche questions. The class was over eight minutes after it should, which, if anything, meant that Jaehee would have to suffer through an impossibly long line to get lunch. The quicker she got out of here, the better. 

She started to make her way out of the hall, walking as quickly as her short, tired legs would allow her until her professor’s voice stopped her cold. 

“Miss Kang, could you stay for a few more minutes? I need to tell you something.”

She turned slowly, stiffly, holding her bag closer to herself. “What is it, Mr. Kim?” At least her fear didn’t show in her voice. This was the first time this was happening. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the C&R Associates internships,” he said, not moving from where he stood six feet away from her. 

She frowned, turning to face him. “...I have, but isn’t that available only to third-year students? I am still a second year, I’m not eligible for it yet.” Why was he telling her this?

“It is recommended to third years,” he clarified with a nod, “but not exclusive to them. Second-- and even first years-- can apply too, but priority is given to the thirds.”

Oh, alright… she could see where he was going. Still… “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I believe that, as one of the most proficient students in the business school, you could easily make it in.”

She raised her brows, not having expected this amount of flattery from a professor she’d exchanged maybe two emails with in the whole semester. “Oh…” What was she supposed to say to this? She knew she was one of the top students in her year, she didn’t expect to be at the top of the whole school… “Well--”

“It is a great opportunity, and gives you a lot of options of places to intern at,” he continued upon her hesitation. “They’re all fairly compensated, too.”

“It does sound like a dazzling opportunity, but…” She stepped closer. “They receive thousands of applications every year and only accept three hundred, and with the year preference I don’t reckon I have a chance.”

“Oh, you should not worry about that,” he said, waving a hand. “Your academic achievements fit their profile exactly, and I can write your recommendation letter if you need it.” 

Once more, Jaehee didn’t know what to say. Should she go for it, considering her chances were so slim? A paid internship for a second year was a very exceptional thing, and she doubted she was exceptional enough for it. Plus, she had already applied to another internship with a pharmaceutical company this summer. But this was C&R. They were known to pay generously and even give out permanent jobs to the top ten percent interns so they entered the workforce before graduation, that’s what made it so prestigious. And she could choose to work in almost any industry she desired if she got in… Cheritz is a part of C&R, she thought suddenly, and her heart started to go at a million kilometers per hour. But, even if she got in, which was already unlikely, the chances of meeting her idol were minimal. This was the farthest place her mind could ever go. 

But, then again, did she have anything to lose with this opportunity? Trying wouldn’t hurt…

“Alright, I’ll apply,” she said, voice unwavering. Her echo in the now-empty lecture hall solidified her resolve. 

The smile Mr. Kim gave her made her believe, for a split second, that she could do it. “I’m glad to hear that.”

THE AFTERNOON’S HOURS FLEW BY in the café. Before she knew it, Jaehee was on her second refill of cold brew, and golden light spilled through the windows. She’d come here as soon as her two p.m. class was over and immediately started working on her application for the internship. She’d already emailed the University registrar about her academic transcripts and the fee waiver, as well as registered herself into the application system. She was now in the process of drafting her personal statement, a 700-word essay on why she wanted this internship, what she intended to get out of it, what she could contribute, and what was her role in a team. This last one was a bit hard to answer and she was planning on just saying whatever and hope that it worked, but the rest was coming along nicely. If she kept her rhythm then she’d be done with it before midnight, and allow herself to plummet into sleep until the next day. Of course, that meant she’d have to hold off her English composition paper until the last minute, which was doable if not stressful.

Writing essays like these wasn't anything new to her, nor was it something she was bad at. It was one of her most useful academic talents, aggrandizing herself on paper while still sounding relatable and humorous. Perhaps it came with the insecurity that perpetually battled her incessant need for achievement. It’s worked wonders for her in the past. 

Now, though, she wondered how this was going to turn out. Something about this essay seemed more personal… more important. Like a second college application, but this time she felt like she was on a rocket ship to her peak rather than on a train that opened her eyes to the world. If it all worked out, she would go places. Maybe that’s what pushed her fingers to type even when her eyes were starting to give out (it was merely 9 P.M., but that’s usually what happened when she’d had three hours of sleep the night before, God bless applied mathematics). When she was done, she slumped on her wooden desk chair, back pained from so much stiff sitting. She read through it once. It was average at best, but it painted a good picture of her. She didn’t know if it was an accurate one, but she wasn’t going for accuracy here, she was going for professionalism. The girl in the paper was starkly intelligent, dynamic, ready for the challenges of the ever-evolving corporate world. The girl behind it took a whole week to make a simple decision and needed to research every single detail of anything she did, just to be safe. Adaptability was a joke to her, but hey, she was good at pretending. 

Calling it a night, she closed her laptop and crawled into her bed, quickly falling asleep to the sound of the pouring rain. She’d proofread that in the morning, and perhaps have the application sent by next week. From then on, it would all be on fate’s hands. 

ON A TOO-HOT LATE SPRING AFTERNOON, Jaehee got the news she’d been anxiously anticipating for the past two weeks. She’d managed to complete the application in a record time of three days and send it just a day short of the deadline. They’d said all results would come out two weeks after that. 

Two weeks have now passed of holding her breath every time she opened her inbox, heart thumping whenever she saw anything related to Cheritz (which, with the Mystic Messenger buzz of the moment, was more often than she’d like). No matter how much she schooled her mind into staying on the ground and not get carried away by fruitless illusions, she couldn’t resist the sheer possibility that it might just happen. That she could be a part of Cheritz, a part of that world, Zen’s world, even if only as a member of the sidelines. She allowed herself to daydream, briefly, about being surrounded by dance and music and passion. Though, realistically, she’d spend the summer filing paperwork, which was much less exciting but worked still.

That day she decided to have a veggie sandwich, just to try it out, and it was perhaps the most “organic” thing she’d ever eaten, even the homemade bread had vegetables as ingredients. Still, it was good and quick enough so she could review her notes for her international commerce presentation. She was sure she had every single detail down after spending half the night polishing it up, but one could never be too sure, and she could never not listen to that one whisper on the back of her head always asking wait, what if you missed something? 

And, as was the habit these days, she checked her inbox as she ate. Nothing was out of the ordinary at first, just correspondence with teachers about assignment questions and notifications about her many extracurriculars. But then she saw a priority email, marked with the characteristic yellow arrow, sent from C&R International Student Programs. 

The world around her dimmed as her rushing blood became the only sound she could register, along with her aggressively thumping heart. She had to make an effort not to drop her sandwich, did her fingers even work anymore? Enough to open the email before she could convince herself not to, mind on fire with thoughts of every possibility on what it could say. She was bracing herself for the crushing feeling of disappointment that would come from the rejection or the underwhelming dismissal from a less-than-but-still-likely waitlist. Euphoria wasn’t on her list of possible emotions, but that is what she felt, as she skimmed through the email, which carried the most unexpected of possibilities. 

_FROM: crstudentprograms@cnr.com  
TO: kjaehee_@nmail.com  
SUBJECT: C&R Summer Internship Results_

_To Kang Jaehee,_

_It is with great pleasure that I announce your acceptance into C &R’s Summer Internship program. Your academic profile, letters of recommendation, and personal statement have deemed you a candidate possessing the drive, diligence, and grit necessary to thrive in the C&R environment. You are one of the three-hundred candidates selected from a pool of over seven thousand applicants coming from 83 universities from Korea and beyond. This is an accomplishment of the greatest value and an opportunity that will open doors for you in the world of business. _

_The companies in the C &R Associates Group are leaders in their industries, perpetually innovating while maintaining the highest quality standard in both products and work environments. As an Intern, you will have the opportunity to be a part of the C&R Family, working in any of our fifteen companies across South Korea, as well as take part in educational seminars given by industry leaders. Depending on availability and performance as an Intern, you may also be eligible to become a permanent member of our staff. _

_Please complete the registration form provided, and follow the steps to prepare for the start of your Internship, beginning June 3rd. Once again, congratulations, and we wish you a fruitful summer._

_Best Regards,  
Kim Jeonghan, Director of C&R Summer Internship Programs._

Jaehee was frozen in her seat, mouth agape and face probably redder than the tomato she’d been chewing on. Was this real? Of course it was, why wouldn’t it be? It was addressed to her, the words were directed to her. Still, she had to blink a few times just to confirm it was real, close and open the app again to make sure the email was still there. She was in. She’d been accepted. And no matter if she managed to grab a spot at Cheritz or not, this was, without doubt, the best opportunity she’d ever received in her life. And she’d take it and bring her fucking all into it. 

She opened the link to the form, out of curiosity. She’d complete it later, once she was done with her classes. There was a section listing all the interning options and the available spots, Cheritz already had fifteen out of twenty filled. Her heart sank. The chances of securing a spot were slim… but that was okay. It would be okay. Future Jaehee would deal with it, and she’d work it out somewhere else. Now, it was time to focus on killing that presentation. 

No matter how hard she tried, Jaehee could not focus on what was going on in her class. Some guy was presenting about contraband and its effects on the international economy or something, but she only managed to retain the general details. Her thoughts were elsewhere, on that registration form, on the many possibilities and the one that was slipping right out of her fingers as the seconds ticked. Impatience cursed through her body, and she was jittery and unable to just be still. During her presentation, she tripped over her words more than once, and spit out the information in a high-pitched, unsure voice, as if a sword were hanging atop her head. 

She took no time to ask her professor about her performance as she usually would, no time to congratulate her fellow classmates. She rushed to the library where she could get fast Internet, and went straight to completing the form, once her laptop took its sweet, sweet five minutes to boot up. The numbers, to her surprise, hadn’t changed that much. Cheritz was now with eighteen out of twenty spots filled.

Her heart caught in her throat, and a small gasp escaped her lips. She still had a chance.

But right when she went to click “select,” she saw the salary listings, and that the one at C&R International (which was at 13/20 capacity) was much more generous than the one at Cheritz. _Significantly_ more generous. Enough so that, if she managed her money well, Jaehee could rent out a decent apartment for herself, even if only for the summer. Maybe if she worked hard enough and secured the job, she could live on her own permanently. Get out once and for all. Finally get what she so yearned for. 

Her mouse moved to that selection, fingers hovering over the click button. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t let herself press it. 

She remembered, for a brief second, what she’d told her dad when she was four years old, and he’d asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She’d told him she wanted to sing and dance like the girls she saw on T.V. 

Of course, life had different plans for her, and that was a future that had been killed before it could become a real possibility. Still, she’d never lost the affinity for it. Music. Dance. Performance. When she watched videos of groups dancing on stage, she saw magic. Magic she wanted to be a part of, however minimally. And now, for perhaps the only time ever, she could. 

Kang Jaehee was not greedy. She took what was given to her, she watched her step not to get too far ahead, because those who aim too high are bound to fall. But she figured she could give in to her greed, just this once. Allow herself to take just a little, if only for a feeble hope of meeting the person that had kept her standing on her darkest days. The risks were few, the alternatives were smothering at just the thought. Cheritz was the right choice, always had been. 

_FROM: internmgmt@cheritz.com  
TO: kjaehee_@nmail.com  
SUBJECT: Welcome to Cheritz!_

_Hey!_

_My name is Choi Minsoo, Intern Supervisor at Cheritz Entertainment. I am sending this email primarily as a thank you, for choosing to become a part of the Cheritz family!_

_We are delighted that you decided to join us this summer, and can’t wait to work with you. During your internship, you will learn all the secrets and strategies to navigate successfully through the world of entertainment, which is in all its ways filled with excitement and dynamism._

_You can contact me if you have any further questions about the details of the Internship, accommodations, payment, etc. During the next few weeks, you will be meeting your fellow interns, as well as given a crash course on what your days at Cheritz will be like._

_Once again, we are so happy to have you with us, and hope you’re staying healthy and safe!_

_Best regards,  
Choi Minsoo, Cheritz Ent. Intern Supervisor. _

Jaehee smiled as she read the email, feeling the river breeze hit her face, her soul light in a way she didn’t know could be. She was still scared, of course, there was a knot in her stomach now whenever she thought of Cheritz, but now, as she looked beyond the horizon to the pink sunset, she couldn’t help but feel this summer would be a good one. 

And, who knows? Maybe whatever came after would be good, too.


End file.
